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TSSA is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing the teaching and learning of cognitive education in Southern Africa and beyond.
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Our core mandate is empowering schools to develop a culture of critical, creative, and innovative thinking to foster independent, life-long learners and problem-solvers. TSSA offers workshops, online courses, a Roadshow with workshops held in the major centres of South Africa, and in 2025, the International Conference. TSSA works with a full range of public and independent schools.
All TSSA workshops, in-school training and network meetings are SACE registered for CPD points, and TSSA is an ISASA corprate member.
Latest News
A Transformative Experience:
Highlights from the TSSA International Conference 2025
Venues: Herschel Girls School (CT), Kingsmead College (JHB)
The TSSA International Conference was a resounding success, with delegate feedback reflecting the deep impact of the two days on their professional practice. This inspiration and insight will undoubtedly ripple outward to benefit their students.
Trevor MacKenzie and Jessica Vance brought immense value to the event, challenging us to rethink key elements of teaching and learning—curiosity, student agency, classroom space, questioning, and more. Their thought-provoking sessions have sparked meaningful reflection and renewed commitment to cultivating thinking cultures in our schools.
Comments from delegates:
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Thank you for this wonderful conference. It was inspiring, informative, full of passion, filled with thinking, ah ha moments and just mind-blowing! I am excited to extend as many of these fantastic tools and tips through our school, to our staff and most importantly, implement them more in my own teaching. Hoorah for TSSA, Sonja and all the brilliant speakers and coordinators!
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Thank you for such an awesome opportunity. The conference had such a vibe created by passion and curiosity of the professionals in the room. Thank you.
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I will definitely be taking my learning wall more seriously and being more intentional about how I design it, making it more student centred. I also can’t wait to share all I have learnt with my staff particularly the four types of inquiry.
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Thank you for an incredible conference. We left exhausted but sparking with ideas and it has been awesome to see the teachers who attended sharing the small steps they’ve taken in their classrooms over the past two weeks.
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I really enjoyed listening to Trevor MacKenzie and Jessica Vance. I found their presentations gave practical examples that we can implement in our classrooms. I particularly loved Jessica Vance's learning walls and I am really enjoying trying to implement this in my classroom. I often find these conferences can be quite overwhelming so it was really nice to have one or two practical takeaways from this.
TSSA Network Schools Webinar
One of the benefits for a school being a TSSA Network School member, is that all teachers at the school can attend the three webinars offered each year. The first webinar of 2025 featured the inspiring Jessica Vance from Leading with Inquiry, who explored Reflection as a Form of Assessment. She shared powerful examples of classroom ‘learning walls’ that make thinking visible and discussed strategies to foster curiosity and reflection. Jessica’s insights left a lasting impact, making this an unforgettable and thought-provoking session.
Whole School Implementation
Thinking Maps®
St John's D.S.G., Pietermaritzburg
18th January
On January 18th, all teachers at St John’s D.S.G., Pietermaritzburg, participated in a comprehensive six-hour workshop on Thinking Maps®. Whole-school workshops are one of the most effective approaches to professional development, as they establish a shared language for learning across the school. This collaborative method fosters meaningful discussions among teachers across different grades and subject areas, enhancing both teaching and learning.
Hatfield Christian School, Pretoria
14th January
Hatfield Christian School primary teachers participated in a whole-school workshop before the start of the school year. They engaged with the eight Thinking Maps, which are highly effective and work across grades and subject disciplines. The Thinking Maps gives students continuity in academic language and thinking, and they provide opportunities for collaboration, as well as encouraging students to become self-directed with their learning.
Listen to the buzz of teachers talking to each other!
Whole School Implementation
Preparing Students for the Age of AI:
Looking at Skills and Character-building
Curro Midrand
13th January
The three key dimensions that schools need to focus on to prepare students for the age of AI are Skills (how we use what we know), Character (how we behave and engage in the world), and Meta-Learning (how we reflect and adapt). The fourth dimension of knowledge (what we know) is what schools and AI provide so well. We explored some of the sub-competencies for the Skills dimension, and wed examine what these would look like in a classroom setting. Simple but powerful strategies to incorporate these into lessons were discussed.
All teachers at Durban Girls' College attended a 6 hour workshop on Thinking Maps on 11th January. The Thinking Maps provide a shared visual language for learning. There are eight Thinking Maps that correlate to eight cognitive processes and can be applied across all content areas and all grades.
The feedback from teachers was in the form of one of the Visual Thinking Routines: I used to think .... Now I think ....
Here is what some teachers wrote using the "I used to think... and now I think ...":
I used to think Thinking Maps® are: Now I think Thinking Maps® are:
- like mind maps - linked to 8 cognitive processes
- used for summaries only - used for different applications
- going to change my thinking - a useful tool to enhance learning
- not going to be useful in high school math - will aid my teaching
- very cumbersome and complicated - attainable, user-friendly, agile, adaptable, useful, illuminating
- too much for me to fathom - perfectly doable
- a creative way to engage students
- provide us with opportunities to enhance teaching and learning
- abstract - a collaborative instrument that helps teachers and learners engage with content on a different level​
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